By J. Randolph Evans

The federal debt is over $14 TRILLION. How big is it?

$14 TRILLION.

To just count to $14 trillion, like 1, 2, 3, and so on, would take
448,000 years.

$14 TRILLION.

That is over $46,000 for every person in the United States (which is as
much as the average person working actually makes in an entire year –
$46,326); for a family of four, it is $186,648 (which is over 2 times
what the average family makes – $67,348).

$14 TRILLION.

If one dollar bills are laid end to end, $14 trillion would extend from
the earth to the moon and back again 2,800 times or if just stacked,
almost one million miles.

$14 TRILLION.

To pay it back in one year would require $38,356,164,383 (that is $38
BILLION+) per day; of course, that is not going to happen. To pay it
back in 10 years would take $3,835,616,438 ($3 BILLION+) per day; that
is not even going to happen.

$14 TRILLION

$14 TRILLION

That is $35 for every tree on the Earth (400 billion trees) – rather
have the trees.

$14 TRILLION.

That is almost $36 for every star in the Milky Way – rather have the
stars.

$14 TRILLION.

That is over $2,000 for every person on the planet (6.93 billion
people.)

$14 TRILLION.

Bill Gates would have to pay his entire fortune ($54 billion) to the
federal government and earn it again 259 times to pay it off.

$14 TRILLION.

It would take virtually the entire Gross Domestic Product (the value of
everything produced in a year) of the United States ($14.119 trillion in
2009, which is estimated to be around $15 trillion in 2011) to pay it
off.

$14 TRILLION.

In order to borrow that much money, a person would have to start
borrowing $1 million per day, every day, for the next 38,356 years.

$14 TRILLION.

That is $1,806,451 for each wage earner in the United States (there are
approximately 7,750,000 wage earners). At an annual average wage of
$43,326, it would take 100% of their pay for over 41 years to pay their
$1,806,451.

Get it? Biggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg problem!

So, has the United States borrowed enough?

Well, the folks in Washington, D.C. want to borrow more. Consider this:
just the interest on this debt is now over $3.5 trillion or over $11,000
per person, and that number keeps growing.

So, the final countdown begins toward the day – August 2, 2011 – when
the United States government reaches its debt limit.

What happens if the Congress does not increase the debt limit? Then the
government cannot borrow more money. So what is the problem with that?

Well, without more borrowed money (beyond the over $14 TRILLION it has
already borrowed), the government will not have enough money to pay all
of its bills. This does not mean the government will have no money. It
still gets what it collects in taxes.

In fact, in August, the federal government will collect approximately
$172 billion. The problem is that the federal government’s bills for
August (money it has already spent) will be approximately $307 billion.

Imagine if your checkbook for August had only $172 in it when you are
faced with $307 in bills to pay. Unfortunately, it is a problem
millions of Americans face every day. They just solve it in a very
different way.

A good start would be an austerity budget, with a diet of rice and beans
for the foreseeable future. Every expense would be reviewed to see
where costs could be cut or eliminated, and things not needed would be
sold to help make ends meet.

Here is what the federal government faces in August expenditures.
Salaries for active-duty military personnel are approximately $3
billion. Military support is approximately $32 billion. Social
Security and Medicare payments total approximately $100 billion.
Interest on the debt is approximately $30 billion. Unemployment
benefits are approximately $13 billion. Just these items add up to $178
billion, i.e., more than the government’s total revenue for the month.
Then, there is everything else like courts, parks, etc.

Get the picture?

Too much debt; not enough income – not a pretty picture.

Now really, would anyone actually loan more money to this group without
some serious changes to how they are doing business? Of course not.
That is at the core of the debate raging in Washington, D.C. It is a
real debate with real consequences.

Here is how Albert Einstein defined ‘insanity’: “doing the same thing
over and over again and expecting different results.”

$14 TRILLION – INSANITY. Here is another idea – the debt limit can only
be increased in the future by the American people. Borrow more money?
It is time to try something different.